Two New Books in History

Parts of Taghi Makinejad’s Life under Scrutiny
“The Memories of Unruliness Era” (parts of Taghi Makinejad’s life, one of the 53 activists of Iran Tudeh Party) by Yusuf Niknam and “The Social Ideas of Muslim Intellectuals” by Taghi Azad Armaki was published.
Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) – “A look at Taghi Makinejad’s life”, “Memories and Notes of Taghi Makinejad”, “An Interview with Taghi Makinejad”, “Ceaseless (examples of his ideas and books)” and “Photos and Documents” are chapters of this book of 212 pages by Yusuf Niknam.
In some part of this book it reads, “History of the 53 and some of its members’ roles in formation of Iran Tudeh Party after August, 1941 is a rather recognized part of Iran contemporary history. A collection of documents and also memories of some of its members have been already published”.
One of the main specifications of this book is narrating the owner of the memories’ views on how the strike of Technical College students was organized in 1935. This strike was one of the most important actions formed upon Dr. Arani’s thoughts and influences. Makinejad was the main organizer of this strike. Prison developments and adventures are the other important part of his memories and notes. His scattered memories of prison days and prisoners are of interest too.
Engineer Taghi Makinejad encountered with Dr. Arani and his Donya magazine in 1933 and found a way to his weekly meetings. This acquaintance agitated his spiritual life drastically. He knew Anvar Khamei, Iraj Eskandari and Shahidzadeh in these meetings. Makinejad was accepted in the first course of Technical College after its institution by the then government in 1934. Before that, the government dispatched 100 of the best students, selected through exam, to Europe to continue their educations annually. His most important political action was taken place as the strike of Technical College in 1935. “I was the inciter and the organizer of the strike in 1935 after the guidance of Kambakhsh and Dr. Arani. The strike ended after a week and Ali Asghar Hekmat, the then minister of culture, accepted our demands and promised to implement them”, Taghi Makinejad wrote in his notes about the conclusion of the strike.
Taghi Makinejad, with an antecedence of religious thoughts, was one of the intellectuals who joined the 53 in the political and social campaign arena of Reza Khan’s Era. He experienced drastical spiritual and personal evolution after acquaintance with Dr. Taghi Arani. The Arani’s Donya magazine played the main role in this evolution. He attended the Monday nights meetings of Dr. Arani’s home. Arani elaborated the content of the magazine in these meetings.
Makinejad was jailed for five years along with other members of the 53 in Shahrbani prison. He was present in the constitution meeting of the Tudeh Patry in Solyman Miza Eskandari’s house and was adopted as the member of the selection commission of this organization. He received his degree in mine engineering after returning to Technical College and was dispatched to France to investigate railroads subjects after employment in railroad department. Returning Iran and getting aware of the deviation in Tudeh Party, he left it. In spite of the pressures from the party, he never showed any willingness to party activities afterward.
The first edition of “The Memories of Unruliness Era” (parts of Taghi Makinejad’s life, one of the 53 activists of Iran Tudeh Party) by Yusuf Niknam was published in Pardis Danesh publications in 212 pages.

“The Social Ideas of Muslim Intellectuals (Farabi to Ibn Khaldun)”
“The Social Ideas of Muslim Intellectuals (Farabi to Ibn Khaldun)” by Taghi Azad Armaki was published in Soroush publications.
The history of social intellectuality in Islam and the social thoughts of Muslim thinkers are two areas through which one can visualize the thinking order of Islamic nation in two levels of society and intellectuals. Despite more prepared context for the appearance of social thoughts in Islamic realm in comparison with the west, social thoughts have been less posed systematically.
“The Social Ideas of Muslim Intellectuals” has been written to fill this gap and the author has tried to display the principles and foundations of Muslim intellectual thoughts using the available works and put them in order.
Historiography between Muslims, research methodologies of Muslim intellectuals and cultural review of them (itinerary and cultural studies) are some of these methods. The social ideas of Abu Nasr Farabi, Abu Reyhan Birooni, Imam Muhammad Gazali, and IBn Khaldun, as the representatives of Muslim intellectuals in thinking realm, have been criticized and interpreted in this book.
“The history of social intellectualism in Islam” and “The Social thoughts of Muslim intellectuals” has been included in the university curriculum of Social Science Course in BA and MA degrees after Iran Islamic Revolution. It can be asked , firstly, are these educational subjects the most appropriate ones to find a solution for social issues of Iran, just because of their social values? Considering Iran’s post revolution situation, is there any theoretical and scientific place for these subjects yet?
This book is to answer these two questions. Firstly, it tries to explain the necessities of analyzing these subjects and the related ideas, and then it reviews the week points, strengths and restrictions of ideas of Muslim intellectuals.
The specifications of Muslims’ social thoughts are presented and ideas and theories of some Muslim intellectuals living before Farabi, Masoudi, Ibn Batuteh, Gazali Tousi, and Ibn Khaldun are being discussed.
“The necessity of posing social thoughts of Muslims”, “The formation context of social thoughts in Islamic civilization”, “The principles and foundation of Muslims intellectuals’ thoughts”, “Historiography between Muslims”, “Research methodologies of Muslims intellectuals”, “The cultural analysis of Muslims intellectuals”, “The social ideas of Abu Nasr Farabi”, “The social ideas of Abu Reyhan Birooni”, “The social ideas of Ibn Khaldun” are the 10 chapters of this book.
The fifth edition of “The Social Ideas of Muslim Intellectuals (Farabi to Ibn Khaldun)” by Taghi Azad Armaki was published in Soroush publications in 328 pages.

Translated by: Asghar Aboutorabi